01/11/07

Wines for the New Year

The Holidays are over, and I am grateful for that fact.

I love the Holidays, don’t get me wrong, but the rich, indulgent food and the mature, elegant wines have an expansive effect on my waistline that leaves me feeling pudgy and short of breath with few comfortable apparel options other than baggy sweaters and drawstring pants.

After all the Holiday fun of friends, family and food, after all the elaborate meals paired with different wines for every course, I am ready to show some restraint as I attempt to balance the excess of previous weeks. A simple winter soup and a small glass of Sherry, Port or Madeira after dinner seems downright austere by comparison.

So, in place of our normal assortment of new and interesting table wines, this week we feature a handful of fortified wines from Spain and Portugal. Some of this week’s selections are sweet and fruity while others are savory and nutty. All of this week’s wines are perfect for enjoying in small quantities. Restraint, after all, is about balance, not deprivation.

Barbadillo Eva Cream Sherry $10.99 Barbadillo was off the market for over a year, but they are back with a new importer. The Eva Cream Sherry is rich and honeyed with notes of caramel and cocoa powder.

Dow’s Fine Ruby Port $11.99 This young Port is dark colored and abundantly fruity. Flavors of black cherry and cassis.

Quinta do Infantado 2000 Late Bottled Vintage Port $18.99 Four years of barrel maturity lends complexity to this sweet wine. Bright acidity creates flavors reminiscent of pomegranate and cranberry.

Blandy’s 5 Year Malmsey Madeira $21.99 Deep amber gold in color and redolent of butterscotch and dried figs, this sweet Madeira wine will warm up the coldest of nights.

Quinta do Infantado 10 year Tawny Port $29.99 A blend of ten years worth of wine from this single estate producer. Dry and flinty with flavors of almonds and walnuts.

Lustau Vides Palo Cortado Sherry $33.99 Rare unblended Palo Cortado Sherry. Amber gold color with aromas of toasted bread and burnt matchstick. The warm brandy-like finish is most welcome at this time of year.

Leacock’s 10 Year Bual Madeira $33.99 A medium sweet Madeira wine made from the Bual grape and aged for ten years before sale. Nuts and toffee with gentle raisin sweetness.

Lustau Emperatriz Eugenia Oloroso Sherry $39.99 Dark, aged full-bodied Sherry with aromas of wood smoke and cocoa powder, with lightly sweet prune/raisin fruit.

01/19/07

New and notable

As we work our way into 2007, new shipments of interesting and hard-to-find wines are arriving weekly at The Spanish Table.

These wines appear briefly, and once they are gone we do not see them again until the next vintage. Most of these are not what I would call bargains, but they are all excellent representations of their respective regions, grape varieties and individual winemaker’s styles.

Check out the options below to see if any of your favorites have come in.

Salanques 2004 $38.99 The second wine from Mas Doix is a blend of 60% Garnacha, 25% Cariñena, 10% Merlot and 5% Syrah. Brighter and more youthful than the Doix, this wine still exhibits the rich complexity that this winery is known for.

Doix Costers de Vinyes Velles 2004 $115.00 The flagship wine of Mas Doix is a blend of 51% Garnacha, 46% Cariñena and 3% Merlot, aged for 12 monthes in French oak before bottling. Inky dark color, cherry brandy aroma and dry minerality blend together top create a rich, multi-layered wine with great length and finesse. The Wine advocate gave the 2003 Doix 98+points

Clos Erasmus 2004 $134.00 When you only make 120 cases of a wine per vintage, you are definitely in the small producer category. That is what Daphne Glorian does with Clos Erasmus. Made from 78% Garnacha, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah, the wine is aged for 18 months before bottling. This dark, complex wine will age well for 10-15 years.

Lan Edicion Limitada 2003 $47.99 We just received the new vintage of this stunner from Bodegas Lan. This bold, abundant Rioja is one of the best of the new style of full, ripe wines from this region. Wine Spectator gave Lan Edicion Limitada 2003 94 points and placed it at #56 of their Top 100 Wines of 2006 (the second highest placement on this list for a Spanish wine).

Santa Cruz de Artazu 2004 $36.99 The latest vintage of this D.O. Navarra wine, produced from 100% old vine Garnacha is dark ruby colored with intense cherry fruit and spicy black pepper background flavor.

Contino Reserva 2000 $39.99 The new vintage of this rare single vineyard Rioja is elegant and smooth. Garnet color and finely tuned oak aroma create the first impression, followed on by bright fruit and elegantly balanced tannin.

01/26/07

House Wine

It seems as if everyone is super busy these days taking care of professional and family responsibilities and no one has time to plan, purchase and prepare the slow cooked, belly warming, soul satisfying meals that are so appropriate to the season.

Big pots of soup or a hearty stew are perfect ways to take care of wintertime hunger without devoting too much time or attention to the task at hand.

Now is also the perfect time to save time and money by stocking the pantry with your own personal ‘house wine’.

I’m talking about wines that don’t demand too much attention, don’t cost too much yet are versatile and flavorful. They are cheap enough to buy by the case, but good enough to drink on a regular basis.

Here are some choices for red wines to keep on hand for serving with regular everyday winter meals.

Porca de Murca Tinto 2005 $7.99 Young red from the Douro region of Portugal. Fresh berry fruit character and earthy background tannins with enough color and concentration to keep things interesting.

Muruve Tinto 2004 $8.99 From the Toro region in western Spain, this hearty, dark, full-bodied red is ripe and spicy, but not over extracted.

Roblemar Tinto 2002 $8.99 Wines from Jumilla have been very popular lately. This one is medium bodied and mellower than some of the others from this region. 100% Monastrell.

Caracol Serrano 2004 $9.99 Another Jumilla, this time a blend of Monastrell, Cabernet and Syrah. Bright and juicy with some earthy tannins in the background.

Montebuena 2004 $9.99 This traditional styled coop wine from the Rioja Alavesa region tastes just like what countless Spanish families stock in their own pantries. Dry cherry fruit character on a medium bodied frame with a touch of minerality.

Santa Julia Malbec 2006 $9.99 From Argentina, this red wine made from the Malbec grape is bold and fruity with a spicy note of chili pepper in the background.